Colonie may ban new motels on street so it can study other uses

By TIM O'BRIEN Staff writer

Published 1:00 am, Friday, May 21, 2010

COLONIE -- The Town Board is considering a moratorium on the building of new motels along Central Avenue.

The proposed ban would last for a year and could be extended for another two years. It is the latest salvo in an ongoing battle the town has been waging with the owners of small motels known for housing sex offenders.

Town Attorney Michael Magguilli said the town has received a request to build another motel on Central Avenue near two existing motels, the BluBell Hotel Inn and the Skylane Motel. Both were known for housing sex offenders until the town passed a law requiring hotels to get a license to house convicted abusers and limiting the number of offenders motels could house.

The town wants to halt the construction of any more motels, hotels, inns or boarding houses so it can determine whether there are too many of them, Magguilli said.

"We'd like to do some studies looking at the saturation of those types of structures," he said. "We'd like to do a study to see if there is a better use."

The board holds a public hearing on the proposal at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 10, in Town Hall. A vote could occur that night.

Magguilli could not recall whether the person trying to build the new motel was Alex Patel or Sam Patel, who owns the Sycamore Motel in Latham. The two motel owners are not related. Sam Patel obtained a license to house sex offenders, then complained he wanted to give it back because it was hurting business.

Neither man could be reached for comment Thursday.

Joseph LaCivita, director of planning and economic development for the town, could not be reached to confirm which owner wanted to build a new motel.

If the town passes the local law, it would affect the construction of the new motel even if the application was filed before the moratorium is approved, Magguilli said. Only a motel that had already received Planning Board approval and whose owner had spent considerable money would be exempt.

Some town residents had long complained about the motels being home to an abundance of sex offenders, the accidental result of an Albany County law that sharply limited how far offenders could live from schools, playgrounds, day-care centers and other child-friendly places. That law had left most of the city of Albany off-limits and prompted the county to temporarily assign offenders to Colonie's motels.

The county law was overturned by the courts, lessening the number of offenders housed in Colonie even before the town's sex-offender motel law was passed. Colonie's motel law has been picked up by other communities and has yet to face a legal challenge.

Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.